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Friday, October 31, 2008

Hi All!Just back from our first camp on the Galapagos Islands!!! Much more to come with photos:)The training was wonderful and more than that the food was and is amazing..right out of the sea and then everything else is fresh and organic. The air quality on this island is something I will never forget..the cleanest air!!!!

I thought I would share this article below with all of you. I have been getting asked a great deal about winter coming and weight loss.

Those of you who know me know that when I run on the road I look for "found money" My kids made up a song that goes like this:Money, money everywhere. Enough on the ground for all the kids to share. Do your share, do your part, you can make a difference!!!I challenge you all to run on the road once in the next week, look for money and let me know how much you find..let's see how much together we find!!!

THAT LITTLE PENNY!

That Little Penny in the Parking LotRemember this every time you pass that little penny in the parking lot.I always thought that it was for good luck, but I love this version better.

I found a penny today Lying on the ground. But it's not just a penny, This little coin I've found.Found pennies come from heaven, that's what my Grandpa told me. He said Angels toss them down. Oh, how I loved that story.He said when an Angel misses you, They toss a penny down; Sometimes just to cheer you up, To make a smile out of your frown. So, don’t pass by that penny When you're feeling blue. It may be a penny from heaven That an Angel's tossed to you.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

We are in Ecuador and today we are headed to the island Isabella to wait for the first group of campers to arrive. What an amazing, magical place this is! The second group of campers arrive the first week of Nov.!!! Both of the camps are sold out. I look forward to being able to share with you some awesome photos of the camps:)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Tetons have been amazing this fall. Snow last weekend and now back to the beautiful weather!

For many years I have done a change of season cleanse. This year, I have done two cleanses. Many of us take better care of our cars than we do our bodies. We take our cars in for regular oil change, tune ups. We can replace a car when it is used up or run down, but we have ONE body. If you destroy your body where are you going to live?

Cleansing is healthy for all of us to do, you may be interested in trying it. I have NO financial gain by telling you about this product, my goal is to simply turn you on to a very good product where I seen great results. Several friends and students have and are using this cleanse and they are the ones who turned me onto it :)

Happy fall and happy cleansing

Lisa

7 Reasons to Cleanse and Replenish

1. Strengthen the immune system. Cleansing impurities and flooding the body with high grade essential nutrients supports the immune system.

3. Support Healthy Brain Chemistry. When your body can effectively absorb and digest fats and proteins, it converts these nutrients into healthy brain chemicals. When your brain chemistry is aligned, you will make healthier food selections.

5. Free Yourself from Stress. In herbal medicine, adaptogens are used to help the body "adapt" to imbalances that stress the body externally or internally. Replenishing the body's needed adaptogens assists in the body's own self-regulatory systems, thus reducing stress.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

This is really what it is all about for me. These beautiful kids that we have been able to help through our effort.

This photo was just sent from Sister Marybeth who is in Brazil right now and these are some of the Orphans.

It is not all about the running or the bike it is so much about the commitment to try and help others have a better life, opportunities that they would never have if we did not help.

I am still working on processing the 508 race and when I do you will be some of the first to know. I don't feel well but I am going to be fine.

I so enjoyed training for the 508 and the process of it all. To be honest I love the bike and I look forward to more of it.

We learn, we grow from everything.

These kids, my own kids..this is the reason why I do what I do.

Here is an email to share from Sister Marybeth and I have found out she was praying for me at 10:30 pm just about when I pulled the plug on the 508..

You see, I had a dream but God had another plan that I did now know about..I am ok with this.

Lisa...there is no finish line!!! nike has a shirt with this on it...

you have accomplished all that God has wanted you to do at this moment...and you learned that you are human...

it will help you a great deal while you are training others...

thank God you had the wisdom to stop...

I would love to know the time...because I sat up in bed and started praying non stop for you...

so thank you for your tremendous effort...you reached your goal...we have plenty to help the kids...and where I am right now boy do they need help...so God has put us both in the right place at the right time...

I am very proud of all you have accomplished...and privileged to be your friend...

God has a lot more for us to do together...dump the bike...you are better on foot!!!

wish I could give you a big hug...

love to all...

God bless you.Sr.MB

I would like to thank all of you for your SO kind donations. We are over $508,000 as of today and of course you can still make a donation at anytime on the www.lisas810.com web site.

Thank you all for your time, effort and energy to write such amazing emails and send blog posts.

Your prayers, love and support mean more to me than you will ever know.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Lisa may not have reached the finish line at 29 Palms, California* but we can give her a 508 that she'd much rather attain.

On Friday's blog post we announced that Lisa's 810 has raised over $500,000 for AIDS Orphans Rising, the incredible organization that works to shelter, feed and educate children in Africa and elsewhere so they can become healthy, self-reliant adults. Since 100% of donations go directly to the children -- not a penny to salaries, rent, administration and the like -- it means that those half a million dollars will go directly to helping these orphans.

Let's complete the 508 by raising just 8,000 more dollars by the time Lisa gets home. Send the news to all your friends, acquaintances and family members and ask them to donate whatever they can afford. $10, $100, $1000, $1,000,000 - any amount brings us closer to $508,000.

With the donations that folks have been sending via the internet just during the time that Lisa's been riding is $420.00. We can raise $7,580 within 24 hours if everyone does a little outreach. And of course, if you haven't had the chance to donate yet, you can do so here.

Thanks! And like Will Abrams wrote to Lisa in a great comment -- "All the children don't care about the desert cup, just survival. You have ensured this!"

Just a quick note to let everyone who has been checking the time splits page know that Lisa is okay and at the hotel.

Lisa didn't make it to Almost Amboy this year, but did go far beyond what she was able to do last year. I'm afraid I don't have many details to offer, but I did get a message earlier on from Cathy about the weather: "bitter cold, rain and wind... Lisa is having a hard time with the wind. Very strong, gusty winds.... 30-40mph with stronger gusts."

Sunday, October 05, 2008

The 508 website has been updated with non-time warp stats, and Lisa passed Kelso around 7:00 PM! She's en route to the second to last stop at Almost Amboy.

Those who followed Lisa's previous attempt at the 508 know that she didn't make it to Kelso last year. She was forced to stop just 100 miles from the finish due to a very serious back problem.

But this year is different, not in a small part due to the fantastic bikes she's riding thanks to the generosity of some amazing people.

For non-cyclists like myself, a bike is a bike. But to take on one of the hardest endurance bike races in the world like the 508, having the appropriate bike can mean the difference between finishing and a DNF.

Last year Lisa rode over 400 miles on a bike that wasn't suited to her, and wasn't ideal for the conditions of the particular race. Her back paid the price. This year, she's riding on some beautiful bikes.

The first one comes thanks to Leigh Corbin and her friend Dr. Kay (below) of the most wonderfully named "Ouch Sports Medical Center". This BMC bike is "fast and amazing" according to Lisa. She'll be using it for climbing.

The second bike is lent to her by her friend Aran and is a lovely little pink number which looks very sharp with Lisa's Pearl Izumi shirt, I must say.

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The third bike was sponsored by a very good friend of Lisa's who does not want to be named.

So this year, rather than one bike that proved to be the wrong one, Lisa has three bikes thanks to some very generous friends. As Lisa said to me the email describing the bikes and the people who provided them: "What can I say? I am blessed..."

Apparently the race timers were just a bit behind on posting the results because they've now put up the info that Lisa blazed through Shoshone at 27 hours and 22 minutes.

She then cycled through a wormhole somewhere around the Ibex Pass, because according to the site she cruised into Time Station #5 in Baker at 7:00 hours and 55 minutes.

I hear that based on the special theory of relativity Lisa could theoretically, be traveling faster than the speed of light. Skeptics might argue that this would be impossible due to the fact that to accelerate to the speed of light any particle, including Lisa, having subluminal velocity would require infinite energy. This means that to surpass the speed of light (in a homogeneous space) Lisa would need more than infinite energy. However, this can easily be explained-- Lisa has many, many packets of GU in the crew van.

I've been obsessively checking the Time Station splits page on the Furnace Creek 508 site like a woman desperately trying to avoid exercising. (Which, I most certainly am not doing. Not at all. Not one bit.)

The more I hit "refresh" the more anxious I get. There's been no time posted next at Shoshone. It's a very tough stretch with tons of incline, and I've noticed that the DNF rate is increasing exponentially. I knew that Lisa wasn't one of those folks, but the fact that she hadn't hit Shoshone meant she hadn't finished 73 miles within 14 hours of riding.

Add to that the fact that she hadn't shown up on Spot for a while, I got a wee anxious. I text Jay, just because he loves it when I text him repeatedly. But he writes back that he's heard nothing. I call Colleen, my trusty repository of all news. No word.

Finally, I get a text back from Jay that Lisa is 14 miles outside of Baker which means the official 508 website didn't report her stop at Time Station #4. Which can only mean that she blew by them so quickly they weren't even sure if what had passed them was human.

So forget about Shoshone; our girl is practically at Time Station #5, Baker. Word on the web is that this part of the 508 is the least hellacious of the 8 stages. This is a bit like saying having your pinky toe gnawed off by rabid wolves is the least hellacious of the 5 toes, but I suppose it's something.

I'll update the blog when Lisa hits Baker. Assuming that she goes by it slow enough for them to register her time.

Just a quick update -- Lisa finished up the most brutal section of the race and clocked into the Furnace Creek Time Station at five minutes before 6:00 AM. (17 hours and 55 minutes)

NB: Never have an art major figure out your splits. If the race started at 7:00 AM on Saturday morning, I can safely say -- after 6 hours of careful study -- that 18 hours later cannot be 6:00 AM on Sunday, unless Lisa cycled through a worm hole in Towne's Pass.

According to sources who are knowledgeable in these sorts of things, 7:00 AM plus 18 hours = 1:00 AM, not 6:00 AM.

No recent news from the crew, but checking in with their Spot, we can see that Lisa is indeed closing in on Shoshone. Spot 1 is her location at 07:49:33 a.m and Spot 2 is her location at 09:19:56 a.m.

Ole Eichhorn has done an amazing "route recon" page for the 508, and here's the description of the Trona to Furnace Creek 99 mile stretch.

This is definitely the "queen stage" of the whole ride, with plenty of rollers, long flats through the desert, a massive climb, and a massive descent at the end down into Death Valley. And much of it will be ridden in the dark, whew. Not to mention an uneven road surface through the Panamint Valley.

The only good thing about this stage is that Lisa could do it with her eyes closed. Yes, it's the same place she was just 12 weeks ago, only on two feet instead of two wheels. Not including all those Death Valley training camps, I count at least 10 times Lisa's been racing out there on those roads. She knows what she's doing, which is the only thing that keeps us from going completely out of our heads with worry.

here's Lisa in the stretch between California City (TS#1) to Trona (TS#2). This section is where the heat blasts hardest, apparently. Look at a topographical map, and you'll see long expanses of flat desert. (In fact, this route passes the Honda "Proving Center"). But maps are deceptive, as they don't show the phenomenon known as "Desert Rollers".Lisa & Crew blasted through the rollers and hit the Trona Time Station at 9 hours and 41 minutes.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Thanks to one of her incredible sponsors, we've been able to locate Lisa despite her crew being out of Blackberry range.

Spot Tracking Device has a page where we can log in and get the whereabouts of Lisa's last message which indicates not only that she's okay, but that she's right about here:Actually, she passed that a while ago (at 3:43 PM) but it's such a nifty thing to be able to spot her whereabouts on a map that I just had to share it with y'all.

As for the latest update, you can check out the webcast on the official 508 site, right here.

...is the sound Lisa makes as she flies by. She came into Time Station #1 (California City) in 5 hours and 19 minutes at 12:20, with 83.60 miles behind her... And she's lookin' good is what we hear from our trusty crew.

And yes-- it's true. Cathy Cramer doesn't even need to open her eyes to crew. She's that good, folks.

But before we get to the video sent by Leigh, straight from this morning's 7:00 AM start (complete with soundtrack of Leigh "woo hoo!-ing") let's take a look at those moments of tension and anxiety that must fill the minds of all elite athletes the morning of the race.

Indeed, we all ask "what must they be thinking right now?". Well, here's your answer.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

FROM LISA: I learn so much from each of my students…including Dr. Christiane Gardner.

Christiane is a new student and I plan to help her get back into the best shape of her life. Chris has an amazing background… she was a member of the National Cross-Country Championship team for two years in a row, she won the junior national 30km championship in 1978, and more recently she coached Camden Hills Regional Hills School girls XC team from 1999-2004. I feel honored to be coaching Dr. Chris!

In addition to her running talents, Christiane is board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery and the American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics. From 1990-1992, she was the Assistant professor of podiatric sports medicine and biomechanics at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. From 1992-2008, Chris led a private practice in Rockport, Maine. And currently, Chris serves as the Chief of Podiatry Service and Director of Podiatric Medical Education, VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System.

Christiane has offered to talk to any students who are having feet trouble and she has already helped a few! Thank you, thank you!

And here are some thoughts from Christiane about a condition you may have experienced…and ways for you to avoid it.

Chronic Achilles TendonitisBy Dr. Christiane Gardner

It is estimated that achilles tendonitis accounts for 11% of all running injuries. This percentage increases as the runner ages. If you are reading this, chances are you have suffered from achilles tendonitis.

First, a short anatomy lesson. The achilles tendon is the largest and most vulnerable tendon in the body. It joins the calf muscle (gastrocnemius and soleus) to the heel of the foot. This muscle - tendon complex is responsible for plantarflexion of the foot and is what allows us to propel ourselves forward while running. While tendons are strong, they are not very flexible and they can only go so far before they become inflamed and tear or rupture. Unfortunately, the achilles tendon has poor blood supply which is why it is so slow to heal.

What causes Achilles Tendonitis?

The biggest cause of chronic achilles tendonitis is ignoring early warning signs and pushing through the pain of early achilles tendonitis. If the achilles tendon is sore, you need to pay attention to it immediately!

Biomechanically, excessive pronation or flattening of the medial arch can cause achilles tendonitis. When the foot flattens too much or stays flat for too long, the achilles tendon is twisted abnormally. Over time, this twisting can cause microtears in the tendon leading to inflammation and even further damage. Imagine a tight rope where a few fibers begin to unravel and you get the idea. Worn running shoes can also lead to achilles tendon issues for the same reason.

Symptoms

Symptoms of acute achilles tendonitis include:· Pain of the tendon during exercise· Swelling of the tendon· Feeling a "creaking" sensation within the tendon as you move the foot (this is swelling of the tendon sheath).

If acute achilles tendonitis is not treated, chronic achilles tendonitis often follows.

Symptoms of chronic achilles tendonitis include:· Pain and stiffness in the tendon especially in the morning· You may feel nodules within the tendon, usually about 2 cm above the heel· Pain in the tendon especially when climbing stairs or walking up hill

This pain can be a long term persistent problem

Treatment

The best treatment is to listen to your body. If your achilles tendon becomes painful, cut back on your activity, stop running hills and ice, ice, ice! If you can treat this problem early, you reduce the pain and frustration of dealing with chronic achilles tendontis!

Replace your running shoes if they have seen better days.

Place a temporary heel lift in both shoes. This will take the strain off the tendon. Once the tendon is not painful, remove the lifts.

Careful, gentle stretching can help but too much stretching or too aggressive a stretch can contribute to the problem. Please do not stretch your achilles tendon by hanging your heel off a stair. It is difficult to control the stretch, and if the tendon is already inflammed, you may risk tearing the tendon.

Once you have tried the above and are frustrated with your progress, it is time to seek help from a sports injury professional. Physical therapy may be needed to strengthen the calf muscles. Ultrasound and massage therapy may be indicated. New running shoes or orthotics may be needed to reduce pronation.

Please do not allow anyone to inject the achilles tendon with cortisone. Medical literature has many cases of complete achilles tendon ruptures after direct injection of cortisone into the tendon.

Many articles have been written on the beneficial effects of eccentric exercises in the treatment of achilles tendonitis. In this exercise, stand with your hands on a railing or desk for support, using your good leg, rise up on your toes, now put your injured leg down toes first, transfer your weight to the injured leg and SLOWLY lower your body down until your affected foot is flat on the ground. Repeat this 10 times.

In summary, chronic achilles tendonitis can be frustrating and seem to take forever to heal. You can reduce your chances of developing this and other injuries by listening to your body. A few days off in the early stages of an injury can prevent months of seemingly endless rehab!

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About Lisa

World-class endurance athlete and ultrarunner, Lisa Smith-Batchen has competed in countless races around the world. She is the only American to have won the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara. She has completed Badwater nine times, including a double crossing, and has won the race twice. Last summer, Lisa Smith-Batchen became the first person to run 50 miles in each of the 50 states to raise money for orphans. Co-owner and founder of the Dreamchasers Foundation, she and her husband Jay Batchen offer personalized training and camps to help other athletes achieve their goals. 100% of the proceeds go to the Dreamchasers Foundation and to Aids Orphans Rising. To make a donation click here: DONATIONS